


Exhaustion

by VickyVicarious



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drabble Sequence, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Prompt Fic, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 17:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1034305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VickyVicarious/pseuds/VickyVicarious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A set of three drabbles (100 words each), focusing in turn on Emma, Killian, and Captain Swan, all based on the theme "exhaustion."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exhaustion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peaceheather](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=peaceheather).



> Written for peaceheather's prompt - Drabble: one hundred words. Challenge topic: exhaustion. Characters: Emma, and/or Hook. Go.

**EMMA**

She knows this feeling. She’s felt it for years, this slow downward drag; she is incredibly familiar with this feeling.

(If it weren’t for the prison guards, she would have never gotten out of bed after Neal.)

She has to keep moving. Has to keep walking, find a fight to fight, because Emma can already feel it settling, so familiar: bone-weary, heart too bruised to beat.  She can’t stop now; if she stops she won’t be able to get up again.

(She just wants to rest.)

_For Henry_ , Emma thinks, and shoves herself onwards, breaking where she stands –

But _standing_.

* * *

**KILLIAN**

It’s been so long since Killian tried to act the hero, he’s forgotten how. He remembers glory, honor, pride… it’s completely different now.

He’s worn out, scrubbed raw, wishing he could have done anything else. He wants to take pleasure in doing right but he can’t, all he can do is grit his teeth and keep going, keep forcing honor because she _deserves_ it, Emma deserves everything he can give her.

They’ve only just got Neal back and Killian has never been so weary.

But he’ll keeping trying, for her – a thousand years and longer, just to see her happy.

* * *

**CAPTAIN SWAN**  


It’s nearly ten minutes before either of them speaks.

“I love you,” he whispers, tilting his head to the side just enough that he can brush his lips against her skin. It tastes of sweat.

Emma sighs, long and smiling. With great effort, she lifts her arm enough to find his hand, to lace their fingers together. The movement punches a soft groan out between her lips, worn muscles protesting already.

“I’m gonna sleep for a year,” she yawns, head tilting in against his.

He kisses her again, lazily, content, eyes falling shut.

Murmurs, “I’ll wake you with a kiss.”


End file.
